Ironic Echoes
by Lilac Alyssa Halliwell
Summary: Piper, suspicious of Chris, casts a spell summoning someone who can confirm whether or not he has the right motives. In personal gain fashion, the spell interprets her words differently, bringing a six year old Wyatt to the past.
1. Brighten

Author's Note: This a prequel to Keep's Getting Better. Definitely can be a stand alone. Thanks for reviews :)

* * *

Piper's expression quickly turned to one of worry when she realized the spell she had just cast had backfired.  
Instead of sending her a future family member or a reliable informant, the Elders sent her a young child. A child was the last person she expected to encounter.

The young boy seemed quite comfortable, given how much Piper was panicking, looking up at Piper curiously, "Mommy, did you finish the cookies?"

'Mommy?' Piper asked herself. She tried to swallow her fear, but was unable as she continued staring at the child, "Future Boy! get yourself down here right this minute!"

In a flourish of orbs, Chris appeared, his hair was disheveled and his clothing was marred with dirt.  
Piper could only imagine what he had been doing before she had asked him to come down.  
One had to snort at how Piper viewed her actions; she would tell others that she had asked Chris to come down, but honestly it was much more of a demand.

"What's wrong?" He asked, immediately concerned. When he noticed Wyatt, he paled visibly, but Piper didn't seem to notice.  
No, she was much too worried about her own problems to worry about Chris's.

"He says he's my son!" Piper exclaimed hysterically, "Last time I checked, my son was barely a year old."

Chris had to hide his smile, "Tell me, what year are you from?" He asked the boy softly.

The boy looked up, almost hesitating, "I'm confused," He frowned, no longer content, "What's happening to my Momma?"

"You leaped a few years into the past. It's 2004." Chris suppressed a knowing expression, understanding the many complications of time travel.

"But I was a baby in 2004." The blonde reasoned, "How did I get here?"

"I'm not sure." Chris answered with an intrigued look on his face, "Piper, do you know how Wyatt got here?"

"That's Wyatt?" Piper asked with surprise. She immediately disregarded Chris's question,  
instead Piper smiled at her older son, "You're such a handsome boy, Wyatt." She gushed proudly.

Chris felt an inkling of jealousy as he watched his mother so openly accept Wyatt without so much as an investigation.  
He guessed it had to do with the fact that Wyatt couldn't be over six years old.

"Momma, the traveler asked you a question." Wyatt answered her immediately.

Chris looked at the boy curiously, 'The traveler?' he asked himself.

"What?" Piper asked Wyatt, now turning back to Chris with a half-glare.  
He was clearly interrupting a potential bonding the two could share, but Chris couldn't risk Wyatt telling their mother about the future.

"I asked if you know how Wyatt got here." Chris asked her off-handedly.

Piper flushed sheepishly, "I cast a spell." She didn't elaborate, leaving Chris to ask supplementary questions.

"What kind of spell?" He tried to be understanding. After all, Piper was his mother and she had the right to practice witch craft as long as she didn't use it for personal gain.

"One that would bring someone to me who would tell me whether you're evil or not." Piper didn't beat around the bush this time.

Chris snorted, "That's great, Piper. Except that Wyatt can't be older than seven and he has no idea who I am."

"Well, you haven't been the most trustworthy person lately, Chris." Piper sniped in her defense.

Wyatt looked up curiously, "That's my brother's name." He piped up with a smile aimed at Chris, "You and my brother have the same name, cool!"

If Chris hadn't mastered a permanent expression of indifference, he probably would have ran as fast he could. This was not good.


	2. Heritage

Author's Note: This a prequel to Keeps Getting Better. Definitely can be a stand alone. Thanks for reviews :)

* * *

"You have a younger brother?" Piper asked, feigning complete innocence about her intentions.

Wyatt nodded slightly, "And-" He was ready to continue when Chris cut him off.

"Wyatt, you don't want to tell your mom too much. Otherwise bad things could happen."  
Chris tried to explain to his brother without simultaneously panicking and yelling at the six year old to shut up.

Wyatt caught on immediately, a worried expression replacing his previous one of excitement, "Like what?"

"They might not exist." Chris said eerily, knowing that Wyatt wouldn't sacrifice his existence or that of their sister's just to impress their mother.

Wyatt nodded, "Okay." He deflated a bit, but smiled at Chris slightly.

Chris felt a nostalgic tug at his heart.  
Wyatt had always been extremely bright, and to add to that, he had always been resourceful.

"Wyatt, why don't you sit on the couch for a minute, sweetie. I need to talk to Chris." Piper suggested gently.

Wyatt obeyed, grabbing the television remote and turning on the television.

"Chris, kitchen, now." She told him sharply.

Chris followed her, knowing this couldn't be good.

Piper opened the door for him, allowing him through.  
Once the two were alone she looked at him, "So, I'm going to have another son?" She said slowly.

"Future consequences." Chris replied instinctively. Sometimes he held onto those words like a life raft.

Piper snorted, "Chris, I'm already pregnant. Something I'm sure you're aware of. I doubt telling me the sex is going to change the baby from a boy into a girl."

'No, but it's going to give a lot more away.' Chris thought nervously to himself.

"You guys have to live your lives like I'm not here. I am only here to save Wyatt, not to give you guys spoilers about the future." He told her honestly.

"Speaking of Wyatt." Piper began quickly.

'Of course she's thinking of Wyatt.' Chris mused bitterly, though half-grateful that his mother had dropped the topic.

"He doesn't look evil to me." She accused slightly,  
but without the former resentment.

"Wyatt doesn't become evil until adulthood." Chris muttered, but then brightened slightly,  
"But that isn't the Wyatt I know. He called me the traveler, so he knows me from somewhere."

"I guess I can accept that," Piper answered him, then added, "So my second son's name is Chris."

Chris's heart quickened, before succumbing, "Yeah."

"Common names among half-whitelighters?" She suggested off-handedly.

"It means 'bearer of Christ' and whitelighters are angels."  
Chris tried to supplement, but did so horribly, making it quite obvious that he hadn't thought the situation through very well.

Piper smiled slightly, "You're no better than Phoebe."

Chris looked at her, slightly confused, "What does that mean?"

"You're not a very good liar, Chris." Piper told him, quite amused.

"Am too." He muttered to himself.

It didn't take him very long to realize that he had just given himself away.  
He looked up at Piper nervously, a victorious expression lighting her face.


	3. Consequential

Author's Note: This a prequel to Keeps Getting Better. Definitely can be a stand alone. Thanks for reviews :)  
Also,8 people added the story to their author alerts, thanks so much!  
And feel free to throw out some ideas, I'd definitely love to incorporate them into the story :)

And I agree, I thought he was a great liar. Piper just tricked him haha.

* * *

"I had a suspicion that I knew you from somewhere." Piper told him, her smirk softening to a look of affection.

"Piper- I'm not your son." Chris countered after taking a moment to recover.  
He could not believe that he had given away such an important secret that easily.

Piper was wrong though, Chris was a skilled liar. Given how long he had kept the secret, it would have been impossible to disagree.

"Really? That's too bad. You look like me, have Leo's eyes, Phoebe's inability to lie and Paige's."

Repeating what she had said moments earlier, Chris felt his patience running low.  
So he slipped up, that didn't change how long he had kept the secret in the first place.

He was not like Phoebe, no, he was much more like Paige.

Wyatt, on the other hand, he was easily a copy of Phoebe.  
Bright, yes, but tactful, no.

In addition, he was much more easily swayed to dark side, something Phoebe had experienced in her younger days as a witch as well.

"Sarcasm?" Chris supplemented.

Maybe as a child he had been a bad liar, often being honest by nature, but he had grown of it.  
He didn't want to lie, but _he had to_.

He tried to excuse himself for making such a critical mistake as revealing his identity,  
by telling himself that he knew Wyatt would have revealed the truth anyway.  
At least this way he had been the one to admit it to his mother, and what a relief it was.  
Each dirty glare she had given him had cut into him slowly, until his will had began to weaken.

Piper grinned, "I was going to say genetic lineage, but I'll add sarcasm to the list."

Yes, it was true. He and his Aunt Paige had many things in common,  
and being part-whitelighter, part-witch was only one of those things.

Off the top of his head, Chris could count being a younger sibling, being undeniably sarcastic, having a desperate need to help others,  
as well as putting their destiny as witches before their imperative as whitelighters, though the both of them often used their whitelighter abilities to assist them with such problems.

As a teenager, Phoebe had suggested he was a mix between Paige and Prue,  
though inheriting Piper's nasty temper and her mantra that family came first.

Chris opened his mouth to make a remark, but Piper shut him down, "I already know, Chris. You won't change my mind.  
I've never known someone who knew their way around this house without having been a family.  
Not to mention, you know everything about us and I mean, everything."

"I-" Chris began.

"We'll talk about it later." She interrupted him again, "In the meantime, we need to deal with the spell."

For this opening, Chris was thankful. He did not want to talk about the future, or his family.  
It wouldn't lead anywhere good when Piper began asking him where she was in his future.

"Right, so we'll just send Wyatt back. He can't be from past the year 2010." Chris estimated.

"There is a reason the spell brought Wyatt here." Piper reasoned with Chris, "Let me talk to him."

Curiosity about the future of not only her son, but her family as a whole, was beginning to drive her crazy.

"He can't tell you anything about the future, Piper." Chris negated immediately.  
He didn't want his mother to know about the deterioration of her relationship with Leo, among other important events that would eventually occur.

"You said he knows you from somewhere," Piper countered impatiently, "Maybe he knows who turns him." It was a hopeful concept, but one Chris was not likely to promote.

'He couldn't know,' Chris told himself discouragingly, 'He was too young to remember.'

"Chris, if the spell brought Wyatt here then there has to be a reason." Chris loved his mother, honestly, he did.  
Even now, when she had treated him as half of a being, but she was getting on his last nerve.

"Yeah, Personal Gain intervened." Chris snorted immediately.

His mind wondered to all the other possible people that could have been brought in Wyatt's place,  
including his parents, his aunts, Aunt Phoebe's children and several others.

The worst person the spell could have brought was his younger sister and he would be forever grateful it had not brought her.

"Chris-" Piper shot impatiently, "I am not discussing the safety of my son with you."

Wounded, this retort came swiftly, "What about me?" Chris snapped.

He knew better than to make such a remark. He hadn't given his mother the proper time to absorb that he was her son, but that didn't change the fact that she had disregarded his problems as being important.  
He just wanted her to like him, treat him like family again. It was childish, sure, but he hadn't seen his mother in eight years and now he saw her everyday and all she saw in him was a stranger.

"If we save Wyatt, then we save the entire future from Hell. Isn't that what you said?" Piper softened, "We'd be saving you from the horrors that you endured too."  
She hadn't meant to hurt him, she had been trying to improve the future for everyone. Innately, Piper always wanted to help people, even though her responsibilities often ruined her chance for a normal life.

"Piper-" He began impatiently. He couldn't let down his guards now, otherwise he would never get anywhere.  
It had been bad enough that Paige and Phoebe had often been chastising him as they would in future.

He already had two maternal figures from their daily castigation, he didn't need it from his mother.

"Mom." Piper corrected him gently.

There were many nasty remarks that Chris could have countered with.  
Like that Piper hadn't treated him like a parent treated their child, or that she wasn't there in his future, but instead he sighed weakly,

"This isn't the right way to save him. Even if Wyatt remembers, bringing up the experience could traumatize him."

This was probably one of the few things Chris had said without any traces of sarcasm, bitterness or envy.  
He loved his brother and making him relive whatever turned him was not something Chris was going to allow.

Not anytime soon, anyways.

"Possibly, but if we can prevent the situation, then he'll never be traumatized." Piper countered, not about to let up.

She had been brought a great opportunity to improve the future and she was not going to let it go that easily.

* * *

Wyatt sat quietly. After searching through numerous channels, he found something he recognized.  
The Fairly Oddparents was a show about fairies, which made Wyatt wonder if real fairies could grant wishes.

He couldn't help but to feel distracted. After all, he hadn't seen the Traveler in years.

He couldn't remember much about the Traveler, except that he didn't like him at first, but eventually they became friends.

Then one day, sometime around his brother's birth, the Traveler disappeared.

Wyatt had always wondered where the Traveler had gone to.  
His parents had called the man, "The traveler" because he had traveled from the future.

Maybe that is where the Traveler was now, but he hadn't seen the Traveler in a long time,  
which made him doubt that his parent's had told him the entire truth.

His Aunt Phoebe had always told the story a different way;  
Explaining that Traveler had come back in time to save him from a monster because he was special, but the Traveler had been taken in his place.

This had not made Wyatt feel better and most days he preferred his parent's version.

Aunt Phoebe reassured him that the Traveler would have done anything to protect him and that he had cared for him a great deal.

It was at this moment of recollection that Wyatt decided it was time to return the favor and to save the traveler from his demise.


	4. Recognition

Author's Note: This a prequel to Keeps Getting Better. Definitely can be a stand alone.  
**Thanks for reviews**.

Also, thank you so much to all of those who put the story on alert.  
I just published it last night and the story already has 13 people on alert, that means so much to me.  
You can't even imagine!

Like I said, if you have ideas, please do share!   
Unlike my previous story, I don't have anything set into stone, so I love suggestions.

* * *

Paige unlocked the front door of the Manor. She set her keys down and set her purse aside, she found herself blinking suddenly.

She tried to repress her surprise, as she observed the young blonde child watch some cartoon on the television,  
"Hi Aunt Paige." He said with a distracted smile, "How was work?" To Wyatt, it was just like any other day in the Manor.

Paige laughed nervously, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Wyatt smirked slightly. Such a feature would grow on him quickly over the years, becoming his trademark,  
"You don't recognize me?" He asked her smugly, thinking to himself all the pranks he could play with her lack of knowledge about the future.

"Well, you called me your Aunt and assuming you weren't adopted in the past few hours, I'm going to guess you're from the future." Paige offered, picking up on Wyatt's prideful nature.

"I'm Wyatt," He affirmed her suspicions, "I'm from 2009."

"Is that so?" She asked him curiously, "Did Bush pull a Roosevelt and take on a third term?"  
Paige was picking at straws. She had no clue what would later occur in Wyatt's time, including the healthcare controversy.

Funny enough, Paige couldn't have known that Bush would be re-elected this year.  
The 2004 presidential elections took place two weeks before Chris's birth.

"I don't know what that means." Wyatt told her, giving her a strange look.

"Who is the president?" Paige asked him shortly.

"Some black guy." Wyatt gave her a half-answer, not knowing the name of the president,  
but remembering how much celebrating had taken place when he had been elected.

Paige rolled her eyes, taking the response as a joke, "Fine" she shot, feigning dejection, "Don't tell me."

Wyatt stayed silent for a moment, "Do you want to watch tv with me?" He asked her curiously.

"Not right now, sweetie. I need to find your mom."  
Paige tried to cover her nervousness, but at the same time was thinking of the golden child as a jackpot for future information.

Paige opened the door to the kitchen.

Arching her brows at the argument between Chris and Piper, "Settle down, children." she chastised sarcastically.

"Where have you been?" Piper shot at her impatiently, "I called you an hour ago."

"I was at a temp job," Paige said defensively, "They're important to me, Piper."

"Not as important as this." Chris remarked quickly. Paige gave Chris a warning expression, to which Chris smirked, "She already knows. Game over, Paige."

Paige mourned the death of her leverage.  
Her knowledge of Chris's identity was the only thing that kept Chris from working the Charmed Ones to death,  
in addition to Phoebe forcing Chris to consume healthy amounts of food and get adequate sleep.

"You knew?" Piper asked, her temper getting the best of her, "And you didn't find it important to share this information with me?"

Paige backed away slowly, trying to escape, "Nice going." Chris whispered, still smirking.  
Finally he could get revenge on Paige for interfering. In Chris's opinion, she had slowed them down considerably with all her threats of exposing him if he didn't give the sisters a break.

"Don't you dare!" Piper snapped at her, noticing Paige's attempt to escape.

"So... What is future Wyatt doing here?" Paige evaded cautiously.

"Piper cast a spell to find out whether I'm trustworthy or not." Chris explained tiredly, "And it brought future Wyatt here."

"Why?" Paige asked, "I mean, I get that the two of you are brothers, but little Wyatt can't know an adult version of you yet."

"Oh, I know. The last time Wyatt looked like that I was five. In case you're not keeping track, that would have been over fifteen years ago. So he will be no help at all."

"That's not true," Piper replied in Wyatt's defense, "He told me who you are."

"No, I told you who I am. Wyatt just supplied additional information." Chris corrected her.

A hasty knock on the kitchen door alerted the group to their new visitor. Paige moved away from the door, opening it for their guest.

Wyatt smiled from the doorframe, "Momma, I tried to wait, but you guys have been talking for a long time."

Piper stepped forward, rubbing Wyatt's head affectionately, "Sorry, sweetie. We didn't mean to leave you out there for so long."

Wyatt seemed introspective for a moment,  
looking up at his mother with a great deal of conviction, "Mommy, can we change it this time? I don't want the bad stuff to happen."

Piper became concerned rather quickly, "What bad stuff?"

Wyatt hesitated and then pleaded, "I don't want the traveler to die!"

Chris's heart stopped, 'I'm going to die?' He considered broken-heartedly.

This meant that he would never be able to save Wyatt and that he would fail his family. He looked at Wyatt, "You can't change anything, it'll only damage the future in worse ways."

"But you can't die!" Wyatt protested fearfully, "You're my friend!" He was tearing up, trying desperately to calm himself down, but found himself unable.

"It's okay, Wy. You'll see me again someday." Chris tried to comfort his brother.  
Still, he was human and he was more concerned with his impending mortality than with his brother's anxiety.

Chris had always known that he could die trying to save Wyatt.  
Whether from a demon, a darklighter or Wyatt, himself, but he had never thought it completely through.

"What?!" Piper snapped at Chris with an angry glare, "We're not going to let you die!"

"Piper, you can't change the future, it'll make things worse."  
He told her with an exasperated sigh. He hated explaining the concept of 'future consequences' to them.

He was only here to change one thing and that was Wyatt.

"No, Chris!" Piper screamed, "You're my son, I'm not going to let you die. Not now, not ever!"

"You're what?" Wyatt asked Chris, panicking with even more concern.  
Hot tears seemed to streamed down with even more intensity as his face became red with exhaustion and fear.

The traveler was his mother's son? but that meant...

* * *

Author's Note: "Pulling a Roosevelt" is a reference to Franklin Roosevelt, who was the United States president from 1932 until his death in 1945, he served three full terms and died early in his fourth.  
Paige does not like George W as I would imagine. I believe this for two reasons; The first being she majored in social work, which is a very liberal field (it's my minor) and two, because she lives in San Francisco.

I, on the other hand, do not like politics. Though I am more conservative in nature.

When Wyatt responds that the president is "some black guy", I don't mean this to be racist or offensive.  
Wyatt seems like he would have been a smug brat as a kid, in addition, I didn't know who was president when I was six.

Sad, considering that I was a tested "gifted" kid.  
In case you're curious, Clinton was president when I was six years old.

Please review.


	5. Dialogue

Author's Note: This a prequel to Keeps Getting Better. Definitely can be a stand alone. **Thanks for reviews**. Also, thank you so much to all of those who put the story on alert.

Like I said, if you have ideas, please do share! Soon, preferably, because I'm probably going to get stuck verrrry soon.

Also Allison, you're entirely right. The way Piper found out was unbelievably unrealistic. I realized that after publishing the chapter and too many people had read the chapter by then.  
I didn't want to change the story even more and confuse people. Still, flaming doesn't really help writers.  
I'm not sure if you're a writer yourself, but writers improve over time by learning from their mistakes.  
That is the funny thing about the Internet, it completely desensitizes people towards conflict.  
Remember, everyone is human.

Joseph S, My best advice for finding a school is putting all your preferences into CollegeBoard's "College Matchmaker".  
You can find this widget by googling it. Good luck! Let me know how that works out for you :)

* * *

Wyatt swallowed anxiously. The boy took a breath of air, looking very much like he had held his breath for a moment too long, "You're Chris? M-m-my little brother?"

Chris nodded grimly. He had been especially thankful when the younger form of his brother had not recognized him as family and instead, had merely thought of him as a friend.  
Curiosity made Chris wonder what his parents had told Wyatt about him and his disappearance.

"Why are you here then? Where is big me? Why didn't he save you!" Wyatt demanded angrily.

Chris could see familiarity in Wyatt's hatred, it was the same expression he had given Leo when their mother had died.  
This time, though, the hatred was directed at himself. Chris began to ponder whether Wyatt had always been like this or if this was just a phase.  
Did he blame himself for their mother's death like Chris had?

"He's in the future." Chris murmured softly to his brother, "But you don't need to get upset."

Wyatt couldn't help but notice how gentle Chris was. He guessed some things would never change, but there were things about this older version of Chris that bothered him.  
He didn't seem worried about his death, unlike Wyatt, their mother and their Aunt Paige. He seemed to immediately accept it and that scared Wyatt.

"If you're Chris, then you're my baby brother!" Wyatt cried out earnestly.  
Underlying guilt was abundantly apparent to the adults, "I don't want my little brother to die!"

"Wyatt, what happened?" Paige asked her nephew gently.

"I was mean to him." Wyatt sniffled, looking indirectly at Chris. He couldn't bear to look at the man who had been revealed to be a much-older version of his young brother.  
His younger brother would one day come to the past and protect him and Wyatt had treated his brother like he was a bother,  
"I told him to leave me alone and to go bug Mommy instead... and he got really sad."

Chris normally would have let the situation be, letting the small boy absorb the guilt, but he knew that was wrong.  
Wyatt genuinely cared about him, not only as friend, but now as a sibling.

"Chris knows you didn't mean it, sweetie." Piper comforted her son, pulling him into a protective hug.  
She rubbed his back as an act of support, "Right, Chris?" She asked him, giving him a warning expression that it was better if he disregarded any of Wyatt's future actions and focused solely on the child present.

"Of course I know that, Wy." Chris felt pity for the blonde boy. Wyatt desperately want to protect him, even though he was just a child and Chris was now the adult.

In his own twisted way, Wyatt was still like that in the future.  
He believed that the only way to protect his family was to control them along with everyone else, this didn't bode well, as those who disobeyed him were sentenced to a morbid fate.

"Now that you know, you can live." Wyatt pointed out cheekily, he was hoping Chris would change his mind.

"Why don't we have a private talk, alright bud?" Chris suggested cautiously.

Paige snorted, knowing that the future would be discussed and that she wouldn't be present.  
Piper, on the other hand, fully supported the dialogue between the brothers.  
She hoped with all conviction that Wyatt would convince Chris to change his fate. She smiled, knowing that Wyatt was too cute to resist.

"Piper, they shouldn't be keeping secrets from us." Paige advised.

Piper turned to Paige with a warning glance, "Let it be, Paige."

Wyatt grabbed Chris's hand quickly, not noticing Chris flinch in reaction, "I'm ready to go." He said with an adoring smile. Chris nodded and the two disappeared in orbs.

Paige frowned, "Piper, why do you think this a good idea? What if Chris goes all John Ashcroft and blames everything on one of us?"

"And what, we're Bill Clinton? Paige, give it a break. I trust Chris to take care of Wyatt." Piper hand-waved Paige's concern.

Paige left it alone, "It's gotta be hard for Chris to see Wyatt again."

"It's better for little Wyatt to be here than an Adult Wyatt. By all accounts, future Wyatt doesn't seem like one for peaceful negotiations.  
It's just so hard to believe that that little boy will grow up to be evil." Piper's strength began to crumble at the thought of her sons fighting each other,  
"He just doesn't seem evil to me. He wants to save Chris, not hurt him."

"How does Wyatt know that Chris is going to die anyway? Chris just being here has had to have affected the timeline somehow." Paige questioned skeptically.

"It's possible that Wyatt comes from a different future than Chris. Our goal right now is to save Chris, even if he doesn't want to be saved.  
I am not letting anymore of my loved one's get hurt by magic." Piper said, suddenly determined to save not only the future, but Chris as well.

* * *

"We're up really high." Wyatt remarked as they appeared on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, "Is it safe?"

'By Mom's standards? No.' Chris told himself with a slight smirk.

"You're going to let us save you, right?" Wyatt asked his younger brother, "I don't want you to go away." He closed his eyes, allowing the wind to blow through his hair.

"That's what I'm curious about, Wyatt. How do you know me?" Chris inquired.

Wyatt opened his eyes, "When I was really little you lived with Mommy and Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe, but then before you were born you went away somewhere."  
Wyatt began with his parent's version of the story, "But Aunt Phoebe says that a monster tried to attack me and that you protected me, but the monster hurt you really bad."

"What kind of monster?" Chris asked desperately. He just had to know who was trying to turn Wyatt. Lives were at stake.

Wyatt frowned, "I don't know. Aunt Phoebe said that Daddy knew him and that when he attacked you Daddy got really mad and defeated the monster."

Chris blinked slightly. Leo, his pacifist bastard of a father, had killed someone to avenge his anguish? It seemed so unreal to him.

"So what's the future like?" Chris questioned hazily.

Bright as Wyatt was, his expression turned to one of confusion, "You said not to tell."

Chris laughed sardonically, "You can tell me. I'm already from the future."

"Well there's me and you, but you're little; You're four. And Mommy's pregnant with a girl."

Chris exhaled; With all the changes he had made to the past he was both surprised and relieved that his parents had still conceived his younger sister,  
"What about Phoebe and Paige?"

"Aunt Phoebe is really fat." Wyatt grinned. Chris hoped that by 'fat', he meant 'really pregnant'.

He silently mourned for his deceased cousins, promising them he would change their fate and the next time around they would survive.

"So it's you, your brother, and your mom?" Chris asked the boy for confirmation.

Wyatt frowned, "You forgot daddy."

'He forgot me first.'

"Right, dad lives in the Heavens." Chris countered hurriedly, wanting to move away from the topic of Leo as soon as he could.

"No-" Wyatt corrected defensively, "Daddy lives at home."

"Elders don't have families." Chris mimicked what his mother had said when he accelerated Leo's fate as an Elder.

"Are you sure you're from the future?" Wyatt asked irritatedly, "Daddy isn't an Elder. He's a whitelighter."

"What?"

"After he was an Avatar they made him go back to being a whitelighter." Wyatt explained simply, "Daddy lives with Mommy, me and you."

"And who is daddy dearest's favorite child?" Chris shot back pretentiously.

"Daddy says he doesn't have a favorite." Wyatt spoke as if he heard the statement often.

'Of course he did.'

"But Daddy is really protective of Chris. Daddy gets really scared when demons try to attack him. Then Mommy saves the day by making the demons go boom!"  
Wyatt mimicked Piper's molecular combustion power.

"Does he write us letters?" Chris continued the game of twenty questions.

"No. letters are for people who are far away. Daddy is never far." Wyatt seemed awfully defensive of their father.

'No letters? Just what did I do? I didn't come here to fix things with Leo...' Chris mused.

"Are you close to your brother?" His voice was softer than before.

"He's my best friend." Wyatt admitted with a proud grin, then his face fell, "I was really mean to him."

"He'll forgive you." Chris responded immediately, wrapping his arm around Wyatt's shoulder, "He'll always forgive you."

* * *

Paige's remark that Chris might pull "a John Ashcroft" and Piper's inquisitive response that they're "Bill Clinton"  
is a reference to a statement that then-US Attorney General Ashcroft said regarding the September 11th attacks.

To be summed, he blamed 9/11 on Bill Clinton for lack of preparation against terrorism.

Like I said in the previous chapter, Paige seems like she would be liberal. Also, I like pop culture references (I use them a lot in real life).

Please Review.


	6. Oblivious

Author's Note:

Wow! I am ecstatic. 29 people have this story on alert, another 8 have this story on their favorite's list.  
It's funny, because I never put stories on alert, I just add them to my favorites (which I check every other day for updates).  
So, THANK YOU!

Totally made my weekend.

As usual, I ask for suggestions when it comes to the story.  
I know how it will end, but not how the middle should be.

I'll still be updating, but a little less frequently as it is reading week (the week before university finals) and I should study to keep my Physics grade at a B.

As always, please review! :) Have a good week.

* * *

Phoebe gave Piper a sympathetic gaze, "It's going to be okay, Piper."  
She tried to smile, but with such grave news about Chris's fate, she found it hard to do that.

Over the years the sisters had experienced many things tied to their magic.

They had lost their mother and their eldest sister, Prue.  
They had lost friends and family alike.  
The first to go had been Andy, but he had only being the first.

Paige, being the first whitelighter / witch hybrid (and against the rules), had been given up by her parents.  
Luckily, she had been happily adopted.  
So when her adoptive parents died in a car crash and she had survived, Paige had always blamed herself and at times, by extension, magic.

She had dreamed of being a social worker and would have been one had her duties as witch not interfered.  
She knew that by putting magic first she saved more people than she ever could as social worker, but that didn't change the fact that magic had taken something from her.

Phoebe hadn't gotten to know her mother well, as she was only two years old when her mother had been killed by a demon.  
All her life, Phoebe wondered what her mother had been like.

When the original Charmed Ones had gotten their powers back, she finally got to see what her mother had been like.

A few years later she fell for a demon, Cole, who seduced her so that he could vanquish the sisters. Eventually, he became human, but then the Source took over him. After Phoebe and Cole got married, they had conceived the source's heir.  
Phoebe was convinced she could nurture the child to good, but it took control of her body and it had to be vanquished.

Many days Phoebe wondered what her son would have been like.

Piper fell for Leo, the sister's whitelighter.  
Relationships between whitelighters and their clients were exclusively forbidden, under the ruling that such relationships would never work.

When Piper proved she could be a witch and could be in relationship with a whitelighter at the same time, the Elders allowed the two to be together.  
In time they got married and had a son. Leo was rewarded when the Titans attacked for his service towards helping the few remaining Elders regroup.

He, himself, was accelerated down his path to becoming an Elder. Now Piper was pregnant with their second child and she didn't know if she would ever see Leo again.

Magic had taken so much from the sisters' and Piper wasn't about to let it take anymore.  
She would not let eldest son become evil and she wasn't about to let her youngest son die just to protect him.

She was their mother and protecting them was her responsibility.

* * *

"What about you?" Wyatt asked Chris suddenly, "Are we friends in the future?" He grinned easily.

Chris wanted to tell the boy 'yes' and to grin back, instead he mumbled this half-truth, "My brother is one the most important people in my life."

Wow. You couldn't get anymore evasive than that.

Wyatt picked up on Chris's attempt to dodge the question, "Me and Little You think that the baby is gonna be loud and throw temper tantrums."

Chris couldn't help but laugh, the boys definitely had Emma's number, "Well, you guys are right on that account. She is definitely loud."

"But she'd be old where you're from." Wyatt frowned. He had been talking about the in-utero version of their sister, not the much older version of her.

"She's 17." Chris said with a laugh, "And I don't think she would be too happy if she heard you call her old." For a moment he recalled the brightest moments of their  
childhood, making Chris even more desperate to preserve such memories.

"She's here?" Wyatt asked, his curiosity peaked. He wanted to know all about how the baby was going to be when she got older.

Chris shook his head, "No, she's in the future." He missed his sister, she was all he had left now that Bianca was dead.

"So she's with Big Me!" Wyatt accepted happily, "Good." He assumed this meant he was protecting his younger sister.

'Good is the last word I would call it.' Chris thought to himself acerbically.

"Yeah." Chris feigned a smile, "She's with you."

"Hey, Chris, why are you all the way back here? You aren't even born yet."

"I'm here to protect little you." Chris replied with a half-smile. He hated to admit it, but he had grown fond of the toddler version of his older brother.  
Chris had to make sure he prevented the toddler from seeing his death, that in itself could turn the boy just from trauma.

Just how was he supposed to do this without knowing who Wyatt's attacker was?

"Why?" Wyatt asked suspiciously, "What happened to me?"

"Nothing if I can help it." Chris swore to the boy, "We'll make sure of it."

"But you came all the way from the future, where you are really big. Why did you come from there?"

"Well, when you were little the monster attacked you and it did something that changed you. In the future, you're really angry."  
Chris tried to simplify the story. If the boy knew he was evil, he would break into hysterics.

"Am I okay? " Wyatt seemed worried, "Am I mean?"

"Yeah..." Chris bit his lip, "but it's not your fault. It's the monster. He did something to you."

"Oh" Wyatt's face fell, but then looked up lovingly at Chris, "But you must be a really good best friend to come all the way back here so that I never become mean."

'It's not just for you.' Chris perused to himself, 'It's for Ray, Jacob, Katie, Em and everyone else in the future.'

"How can I help you?" Wyatt inquired, now renewed in his effort to save the Traveler, his little brother.

"Just be nice to your siblings when we send you back." Chris suggested off-handedly.

"I mean, now! I want to help stop the monster. If we stop the monster, you won't go away and Big Me won't be mad!"  
Wyatt was trying with great effort to explain the concept to Chris.

"You can help me figure out who the monster is." Chris finally succumbed to Piper's original idea.

* * *

"This is magic school." Wyatt said, eying the old architecture, "We come here sometimes to hide from demons."

"It's got a lot of resources. Books filled with information of potential evils." Chris said, climbing up a nearby ladder. Once at the top, he handed the small boy book after book, each of which Wyatt set on a chair next to him.

"Like the Book of Shadows?" Wyatt supplied.

"You don't go through the book, do you? You're a little young, Wyatt." Chris told him.  
He grabbed one last book and hopped off the ladder, "The images in the book aren't really suited for children."

"Mommy doesn't like me to..." Wyatt said defensively, "But I think it's cool. One day I'll get to destroy all those evil things!"

'Or you'll team up with them to destroy all good things.' Chris's bitter mental retort came.

Chris picked up the heaviest books, leaving a smaller pile for Wyatt to carry.  
He lead the way into another room, then took a seat and pulled out another for Wyatt.

Wyatt stopped a few feet before the table, frowning, "Hey Chris, who is that?"

Chris turned around, "Oh, that's Gideon. He runs magical school." He returned to his original position.

Wyatt mumbled to himself, "I don't like him."

"I'm sure you're not alone in your thinking." Chris managed distractedly, "Most students don't like the school principal."

* * *

Author's Note: Ray, Jacob and Katie are Phoebe's children in the Unchanged future.  
[Prudence] Emily is Chris and Wyatt's little sister, she's often called "Pruey", but hates the nickname.

Please Review.


	7. Share

Author's Note: Ah, what a wonderful week. Boy, I cannot wait for finals to be over.  
Thank you to everyone who added the story to alerts; The total is now 34 and 11 to favorites.

It means so much. Also, thank you to that70sshowlova for reviewing each of the chapters.

As usual, I ask for suggestions for the story line.

Please review :)

* * *

Wyatt was getting discouraged, "Why haven't we found it yet?" He huffed dejectedly.

Chris closed the third book they had gone through and looked up, "We'll figure it out. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Wyatt studied Chris, "But you'll be careful?" He asked Chris suspiciously.

"Why don't we go back to the Manor." Chris suggested, leaving his right hand open. Wyatt took his hand and the two disappeared in orbs, then reappeared in the Manor.

"You guys are back." Piper observed, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I thought this was a more comfortable environment for Wyatt." Chris told them.

"I'm fine!" Wyatt shot back, embarrassed that the Traveler thought he couldn't handle Magic School.  
Also, he was partially angry that his younger brother was insulting him.

Phoebe's intuition told her that it was Chris who truly preferred the Manor to Magic School.  
She didn't blame him, he had grown up in the Manor and it was his home. Not to mention that she personally found magic school a bit creepy.

"Good." Piper smiled, she put two plates on the table, "Because you two need to eat."

"I'm not hungry." Chris countered immediately. Discomfort was hidden in his words, but Phoebe believed it best that he learned how to be around his family again.  
Chris lifted up some books to show Piper, "I have to go through these anyway."

"Chris." Piper pleaded, exasperated at how much he was pushing her away.

"Books." Paige called with a smirk. As she came to her sister's aid, Paige gave Chris a warning glance, "You may not want to eat, but Wyatt needs to. If you decide that you're too busy, he's going to be guilted into skipping his meal too."

Chris rolled his eyes, "Paige, don't you want to protect the future?"

"Yes and I also want to protect my family. If you suddenly collapse after your three-year hunger strike, then how will we ever do that?"

Chris gave her a glare, but took a seat next to Wyatt. The two ate quietly, not saying anything at all.  
Phoebe wondered if Chris felt uncomfortable next to Wyatt, but Paige knew the two boys were perfectly fine.

It seemed to her that it didn't matter when and where, the two boys were always brothers.

"Did you guys find anything at all?" Paige asked curiously, wanting to break the awkward silence surrounding the kitchen.

"Not really. I don't know what to look for and there are so many possibilities that we may never figure it out." Chris admitted.

"You've got your mother's optimism." Paige remarked disappointedly.

"Well, why don't we narrow it down?" Phoebe asked the group, "Wyatt, sweetie, do you remember anything about the monster?"

"Well, in the story, you always said that the monster knew Daddy." Wyatt began, "But I don't know how." He seemed disappointed that he couldn't help more.

"Why don't we call Leo and ask him who he thinks it could be?" was Paige's response, geared at her sisters.

"No, I can't. He doesn't even know I'm pregnant. Besides, most of the people Leo knows are whitelighters and Elders. They may be obnoxious, but they would never hurt anyone."

"Maybe it's one of Leo's former charges." Phoebe inquired, "And they became evil?"

"Do you guys really think it's someone we know?" Piper seemed desperate to squash that theory.  
To believe that someone they knew and trusted could do something that awful scared her and it was definitely a thought she didn't dare to entertain.

"Wyatt is a special baby, Piper." Paige seemed apologetic, she didn't want anyone to hurt her nephews either, but they had to consider all the possibilities.

Chris was aggravated. He had had an entire schedule set out for today and now he was behind because of his mother's spell.  
It would have been beneficial if Wyatt actually remembered anything, but Wyatt's intrinsic guilt trips were starting to get to him.

With grit teeth, Chris finally spoke up, "Why do they call him the monster?"

"Because he was an evil creature that hurt the Traveler." Wyatt told him simply.

"Yeah, I got that." Chris grumbled, "Did he look like a monster? What were his powers?"

Wyatt paused for a moment, trying to think back that far, "He didn't look scary. He was just really angry. He wanted to hurt me, but instead he hurt you."

"With what? a fireball? a power? What did he use, Wyatt?" Chris was losing his patience.

This whole situation was out of control. His mother was not supposed to know who he was. He wasn't supposed to be following orders from the Charmed Ones.  
He was here to save Wyatt and in the process, save many many others.

Each moment the group pondered who could have hurt him, they were wasting time they could be spending on preventing Wyatt's turning.

Wyatt closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, he focused on the moment, "A knife." He said finally, choking up again, "He stabbed you with a knife."

Chris shook his head in disbelief. Why did it have to be something as ambiguous as an athame?  
It couldn't have been a specific power that he could have used to narrow down his list. Instead, it was a generic weapon, used by good and evil alike.

Wyatt picked up on Chris's negative reaction to his answers, "I can show you."

"What?" was the collective response.

"When I want to explain something but I don't know how, I show people." Wyatt told the group, "but I can only show one person at a time."

"I'm going first." Piper said in a steely tone.

"No." Chris rejected the idea right away. He could only imagine all the negative events that would follow Piper knowing information about the future.

"Chris, you will not stop me from trying to save you." Piper told him, the determination written in her every expression.

Chris softened. He knew his mother just wanted to protect him and Wyatt, but he would not allow her to see his death. She had seen so many family members pass away and he wasn't about to let her get hurt by something he could prevent.

"Come on, Wyatt." Chris ordered as he left the room. Wyatt hesitated. Torn between defying his mother and saving the Traveler. He gave his mother an apologetic look and followed Chris into the living room.

"Give me your hands." Wyatt told him, then he looked up, "It's like Aunt Phoebe's power, except you really are there."

"Does it hurt?" Chris questioned. Without Leo in the picture, he couldn't afford to be fatally wounded.

"No." Wyatt shook his head. He closed his eyes, squeezing Chris's hands firmly. Finally, the two of them were pulled into the memory.


	8. Impossibilities

Author's Note: Thanks for the few people who added the story to alerts, it now totals 37.  
Like I said last week, I'll be updating, but less frequently. I have final exams this week and I'm really nervous.

My own fault for taking statistics, nutrition & physics in the same semester.  
You know, in addition to the classes for my major and minor.

Thank you for reviews.

As usual, I ask for ideas. I'm good about beginning and ending a story, but the middle always seems to be a blur.

* * *

_Chris found himself in front of the Book of Shadows. Before he had any time to grasp what date Wyatt had taken them to, he heard a noise. _

_He sharply turned left in response, now feeling very eery. _

_Nervously, he called out, "Hello?" He looked down at the Book, trying to figure out what page he had been reading the day he had died.  
____There was a likely chance that whatever demon the page was on, was the one trying to turn Wyatt._

_Another noise came this time, making him air on the side of caution. He walked hurriedly towards infant Wyatt, quietly murmuring, "It's time to get you out of here."_

_Immediately, he was thrown backward into some furniture. He remained stationary for a moment, before trying to pick himself up. _

_He looked up as his attacker appeared, "Don't make me sacrifice you too." _

_Chris felt himself choked with a combination of fear and shock. Instinctively, he threw his attacker across the room with telekinesis. _

_He ran towards Wyatt, desperately trying to protect the child. An athame appeared in His attacker's palm in an instant. _

_It was too late. The attacker reappeared in front of him, plunging the blade into his stomach. Chris crumpled to the ground and the athame was withdrawn. _

_With no more control, the actions seem to play out like a movie as Chris could only explain that his future counterpart had called to Leo, "Dad!" his voice pleaded. _

_Leo appeared at his side within a mere moment. "It's for the best, Leo" The familiar acquaintance apologized as he disappeared with Wyatt in his arms. _

_Leo moved Chris into Piper's room. Feverishly trying to heal him, but failing each time. _

_Chris felt no pain, but he knew the wound wasn't healing, "You have to find Wyatt." He heard his voice tell Leo. _

"_We're going to find him together." Leo argued back, still trying to heal him. _

_Chris gasped for air, "It won't work, Gideon's magic did this to me. Just go." _

_Leo was hurt, but Chris continued, "Saving Wyatt saves the future, you know that."_

"_I can't choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can't." _

_Words Chris never believe he would ever utter, came out in a flood, "You don't have to, Dad. Find Gideon. You save us both." _

"_Alright. Alright." Leo finally came to his senses, adding, "Alright, but I'm not leaving you alone. I'll be right back."_

"_Where are you going?" Chris asked. _

"_To get one of your aunts to watch over you." _

_Chris sighed with disbelief. Wyatt needed to be saved and he needed to be saved now. _

"_You're going to be fine." Leo reassured. He kissed Chris's forehead, making Chris feel a slight amount of discomfort at the sign of affection from his father. _

_In flash, he saw Leo reappear. Paige was at his side. _

"_I'm here now." Leo comforted him, pleading for him to stay, "Don't give up."_

_With control of his body once more, Chris uttered one last line, "You either." before disappearing out of sight. _

Chris opened his eyes. He lost his footing but was lucky that a couch was right behind him. He fell onto the couch swiftly, taken by surprise by the rough landing.

So many thoughts ran through his mind and he couldn't think of which to address first.  
He knew that who turned Wyatt was more important at the moment than anything else, but he was stunned at Leo's affection.

As a child, his mother had always told him that his father loved him. Leo, himself, though, had never shown it too well.

Chris had known that while he wasn't entirely a mistake, he had certainly not been planned.  
His sister on the other hand, she had been conceived on circumstances that Chris could only call a one-night stand.

That version of Leo that he had seen in the vision had loved him. That much had been made clear and Chris couldn't help the tears that involuntarily made their way down his face.  
His heart ached for what Leo and his mother would eventually have to go through.

He knew that telling Piper what he saw would only give her more heartache.

So he tried to calm himself down, but couldn't stop himself from shaking.  
It had been Gideon!

He had trusted Gideon to help ensure the safety of the new future that Chris had been trying to create and he was the evil that had tried to hurt his brother all along.

Chris felt that any moment his blood would begin to boil. No, this was not good. He couldn't save Wyatt with such anger coursing through him.  
How would he resist killing Gideon now that he knew the truth?

"Chris, don't cry." A small voice begged.

Chris blinked. He had forgotten Wyatt had even been in the same room as him. Poor Wyatt was just a victim, taken advantage of by those he was supposed to trust.

"You know who it is, right?" Wyatt seemed almost mature in the moment where he hugged Chris, attempting to comfort his 'younger' brother.

"Yeah." Chris whispered, terrified at what he would do if he saw Gideon again.

"What demon was he?" Wyatt queried, subconsciously forgetting that he had just seen Gideon a few hours earlier.

"He wasn't a demon." Chris answered softly. He felt his will break down slowly. He had been raised to believe that there was a clear-cut line between good and evil.  
This foundation had been pertinent when he had gone back to the future and Wyatt had called him out on it, but at the same time had corrected him by making the statement that it was all about power.

Future Wyatt must have known, maybe not specifically, but he must have known that someone had once broken his trust in a way that could not have been repaired.

Gideon had been well-meaning, Chris understood that much, but he had chosen the wrong way to deal with his doubts.  
Instead of breeding good magic, as magic school had been designed to do, he had chosen to eliminate the product of a marriage he had once supported.

"What warlock was he? Was he in the book?" Wyatt continued on, still as curious as before.

Gideon was in the Book of Shadows. Not specifically, no, but the entry about Elders was all-encompassing. For a moment, Chris had lost hope.

This revelation would cost the group so much.

If they went after Gideon now, he may consider them even more of a threat and speed up the process.  
If they tried to convince him that Wyatt was not evil by nature, there was still a possibility they would fail.

"Chris, what's wrong?" Piper asked softly. She sat next to him, not caring whether he rejected her or not, and pulled him into a protective hug.

"I can't tell you who it is." Chris sniffled, more tears sprang to forefront of his eyes, "I want to, but I can't."

Piper could feel Chris's frustration, and with her motherly instinct, she remained silent, just holding onto her son.

* * *

Author's Note: You might find Chris to be a bit out of character. Just understand that he just seen his death and the heartache that his father, the man he has hated for so long,  
will eventually have to endure. He has learned that eventually he and Leo will be on friendly terms and that someone he thought he could trust has actually been plotting to  
kill his brother. This person has created the dark future that he has endured for many years now and that person was supposed to be a being of light that protected others.

Also, if I saw my death, I would probably cry too and I'm not even an emotional person by nature.

Please review.


	9. Mortality

Author's Note: Thanks for the few people who added the story to alerts, it now totals 43.  
Thank you for reviews.

As usual, I ask for ideas. I'm good about beginning and ending a story, but the middle always seems to be a blur.

* * *

Paige leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping on her afternoon coffee.  
Phoebe was pacing in circles, irritating Paige all the meanwhile, who let out an impatient sigh, "Can you stop that?"

"You saw Chris. Paige, he is devastated." Phoebe could feel his insecurity and fears seeping out, somehow overpowering the potion he had taken to prevent such a situation.

"I know, sweetheart. He saw his death, that must have been a painful scene to observe." Paige gave Phoebe a sympathetic gaze, "But I think we should focus on saving him."

Phoebe's ears picked up on a scream, "Piper!" she called out as she ran to her older sister's aid.  
Paige gasped at the bulging arrow in Chris's chest. The sight made her light-headed and she tried to steady herself.

Her family needed her help and they needed it now.

Piper was trying blow up the Darklighter, but he was too fast. Using his black orbs, the darklighter would appear and reappear, almost taunting them.

"Piper, look out!" Paige warned. Piper turned around, instinctively throwing up her wrists.  
She missed the darklighter, who disappeared once more, this time behind her and instead she blew up a vase in the corner of the room.

The darklighter appeared behind her, shooting the arrow into her back. Before she had time to realize what was happening, she fell to the ground, the poison spreading at a lethal rate.

Phoebe was incapacitated by the negative emotion swirling about. She rubbed her temples, trying to collect herself and to help vanquish the darklighter.  
Unfortunately for Phoebe, the darklighter's hate was enough to send her crumpling over, she tried to push herself back up, but eventually fell into unconsciousness.

Paige was on her own now. Arrow after arrow were being shot at her, "Arrow!" she repeated the statement continually, dodging each one.  
Each time she did so, she felt herself worn down. Finally, an arrow too fast for Paige grazed her chest and she fell backwards.

"Game over, witches." The darklighter smirked, disappearing in black orbs.

Wyatt came running down the stairs, "Momma?" He asked. He had retreated upstairs as routine during a demon attack, when he had found himself to feel secure he had come back.  
It was then he saw his entire family's mangled bodies, "No!" He screamed angrily,  
"No! No! No! You can't go away. You're not supposed to!" He kicked the wall angrily.

Not an uncommon reaction for the day, tears again began to roll down his red cheeks.  
He walked over to Chris, ready to pull out the arrow, "Don't." Chris's hoarse voice came, "It'll hurt you."

"You're okay!" Wyatt seemed suddenly relieved, a semi-expression of joy lighting his face.

Chris shook his head weakly, "Not for long." He whispered. His breathing was constricted and Wyatt understood that his family needed help and they needed it now.

Piper was completely knocked out, but Wyatt seemed to understand that she was safer than his brother was at the moment.  
Wyatt instinctively ran to Phoebe, who was in the door frame between the kitchen and the living room. She was the only one of them without whitelighter blood at the moment.

He was surprised when he saw that she seemed in perfect health. Furious that she hadn't done anything to help, he began to shake her, "Aunt Phoebe wake up."

Phoebe didn't move. This only served to infuriate Wyatt even more.  
"Aunt Phoebe, Wake Up!" Wyatt screamed a bit more forcefully, "Wake Up, Wake Up!" When nothing happened, he left her with a hasty glare.

Wyatt moved onto Paige, who opened her eyes when she felt his unsteady breath on her face. He went to hold her hand, but she retracted her her wrist, "Don't touch me. It'll hurt you."  
Wyatt began to cry at her gentle expressions.

Aunt Paige wasn't normally that nice. She was funny and talked a lot and made jokes, but kind? Not likely. The serious response Paige had given him only  
seemed to reinforce the idea that they could all die.

Wyatt tried to calm himself down, taking a deep breath and then he screamed, "DAD!"

His breath seemed to resume a near-normal pattern until he realized his father hadn't shown up.  
Confusion now took over. Where was his dad? His dad ALWAYS came when he called.

"Dad! Mommy's hurt! Please come!" He pleaded. This time, he kept shaking in fear.

Where was his father? He then remembered something that always worked, "Dad! Chris is in trouble! He's really hurt! Please come, please!" Wyatt's sobbing would have made it hard for those around him to make out his words.

"Please..." his last plea came out, as he fell to the ground, "Save them."

Physically, Wyatt was safe and perfectly healthy. In any other way, he was far from healthy.  
His father had always been an important part of his life and had promised he would always be there to protect him, but now...

"Piper!" a deep voice called out.

'Daddy!' Wyatt thought to himself, 'He came to save everyone!'

Wyatt turned around, but Leo didn't seem to notice him.  
Leo pondered what he should do, he took a deep breath, pulling the arrow out of Piper telekinetically. He put his hand over the wound, letting it heal.

He moved on to Paige, again pulling out the arrow telekinetically. As soon as he finished healing her, Leo paled.  
He hadn't noticed how bad the poison had affected Chris. Leo made an assumption that Chris had been the first casualty.  
He concentrated all his power on healing Chris, whose wound took much longer to heal than Paige's.

Chris took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering with confusion. He turned to Piper within seconds, after realizing she wasn't hurt, he exhaled with relief.

Normally, he would have made some snarky remark, "Thanks for saving my life." He addressed Leo with the greatest sincerity he had given since meeting the past-version of his father.

Leo nodded, "You're going to be okay, just take it easy." He advised, now catching his breath. Piper was okay, thank god.

Chris laughed at the irony, "Where's Wyatt?"

Leo orbed upstairs without so much as a word.

Chris arched his brows, "Sometimes I wonder about him." he laughed when he noticed the young boy had been behind Leo the entire time.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Wyatt jumped onto Chris's lap, latching onto him securely, "I love you! Don't get hurt again."

Chris hugged the younger form of his brother with equal affection, "I love you too, Wyatt."  
He could do this. He could save his older brother. 'I love you, Wyatt. No matter what.' He added to himself silently.

For now, his mother and aunts would rest.  
Chris now had a renewed sense of security, if only for a moment.

* * *

Author's Note: Wyatt is very reactive. Yeah, it's probably annoying, but he's six.  
I think it's hilarious when authors turn five year olds into sixty-five year olds.

Please Review.


	10. Hope

Author's Note: If I could apologize a million times, I would.  
I finished my semester and got incredibly lazy. At least my freshman year went well. I got a 3.9 gpa.

Summer school at the community college begins next week :[

Thank you for everyone who has added the story to their alerts or their favorites.  
Alerts: 53 Favorites: 19

As usual, I ask for ideas. Also, to the reviewer who said Leo can't use telekinesis,  
I totally agree, but there have been many times where he put his hands over the book and the pages moved.  
So, I'm going to pretend that's some form of telekinesis.

* * *

Wyatt remained in Chris's comforting arms, "When I get back to the future, I'm gonna teach you to orb away from bad guys."

Chris looked up, giving Wyatt a warning glance, "Excuse me?" He asked. There was a mixture of amusement and offense in his indignant laugh.  
He found it incredible that Wyatt could make him feel so insecure at such a tender age.

"Like this." Wyatt explained, not picking up on Chris's anger. He orbed from his spot on the couch to a nearby loveseat. A grin spread across his face.

"I know how to orb." Chris's irritation seeped through just a bit. Wyatt was always going to be Wyatt, evil or not.

Wyatt's reprimanding expression reminded Chris of his childhood, "If you know how to, then why didn't you?" There was a genuine bit of concern in his condescension.

It was a fair question, but Chris couldn't help but feel indignant at the remark. Instead, he appealed to Wyatt's ego, "You did really well." Chris complimented the boy,  
"Thanks for saving my life."

Wyatt grin turned into an appreciative smile, "Daddy always comes for you. He is always scared that you're gonna get hurt."

"With my lifestyle, that's a likely possibility." Chris laughed to himself. Leo was going to be a father to him one day. It was comforting thought, but still a strange one to entertain.

He stood up, still exhausted and lifted his mother's body onto the couch. He eyed her baby bump with concern, "Momma's okay, right?" Wyatt asked worriedly as he stared at Piper's unconscious body.

"I think so." Chris hesitated. He took Piper's hand, rubbing it reassuringly, "Mom's going to get some rest now." He told Wyatt with a wary smile.

"Mom?" a voice asked and Chris swallowed nervously. He turned to Leo, restraining himself from becoming too emotional.  
All at once he felt hatred, pain, mourning and abandoned.

"Piper's my mother." Chris admitted softly. Normally, he would have lied and found some sort of excuse, but he couldn't help but flash forward to his death.  
Leo would make amends one day.

"You're-" Leo paused, now shell-shocked. He immediately noticed Piper's baby bump.

"I'm your son." Chris nodded and pulled Wyatt to himself, "This is-"

Leo's eyes widened in surprise, "Wyatt." He smiled at the boy, "He looks just like I did at his age."

'Of course.' Chris thought of his childhood, so many events in life made sense now. He always had thought Leo was a self-absorbed ass and now that he knew that he saw himself in Wyatt, life made more sense. Paige had always remarked that Chris looked entirely like Piper, sans his emerald eyes.

She would also mutter how he had inherited Piper's temper, but Chris would ignore her.

As a child, Chris had loved his eyes. It had almost been like he had a piece of Leo wherever he went, but as he grew older and came to realize his father was never going to be  
what he had always hoped for, he had come to despise those eyes. In the past it had been especially hard. Each time he looked in the mirror he had to remind himself not to  
become like Leo. He couldn't abandon his plan, doing so would leave so many people even more vulnerable to Wyatt.

Right now, though, Leo's emerald eyes were scaring him. Leo had no distrust any longer, automatically smiling any time Chris gave him a glance. It was unnerving.  
If Chris had been Leo in this situation, he would not be that easily persuaded.

"You look like Piper." Leo murmured softly, almost mourning.

Chris's heart seemed to slow. He had heard the cliche many times over, but the most critical moment he had heard it was at his mother's funeral.

Leo continued gently, "Why didn't you tell us from the start?"

Many, many reasons could be articulated, but Chris picked only one, "It wouldn't have worked that way."  
This was not a comfortable conversation and Chris needed an exit strategy.

"We would have believed you when you said Wyatt turns evil." This response was layered in unnecessary prodding from his father.  
Unfortunately, tact was not one of those layers.

"What does that mean?" Wyatt yelled at Chris, he pulled on Chris's tee-shirt with an especially harsh tug. This seemed to be his warning and for a moment, Chris saw the tyrant.

"Leo!" Chris chastised immediately. Wyatt was never supposed to know about the Dark Future. Chris had been picking his words carefully the whole day just to avoid the repercussions that would surround Wyatt's knowledge of this path, "Are you nuts?"

Leo pulled Wyatt towards him gently, "I'm sorry, Wyatt." Leo kissed his forehead, "I didn't mean that, buddy. We will never let you turn evil."

The stress of the situation was too much for Chris. Wyatt broke free from Leo's hold, "Chris, are you okay?"

Chris flashed a smile at Wyatt, "Fine. I just need to relax. I'll be back later." He disappeared in orbs.

Wyatt frowned, looking back at Leo now, "He's not okay, daddy."

Leo sighed, agreeing with his elder son. The fact that Chris was his son was being absorbed too slowly to severely impact him.  
Leo thought of all the acts Chris had committed in the past ten months. Chris had said he had barely gotten to know his family and Leo was now wondering what exactly that meant.

Walking over to Paige, Leo picked her up and orbed her to her bedroom and then repeated the process with Phoebe.

"That's done now." Leo mumbled softly, petting Wyatt's hair.

"Daddy, where have you been the whole day?" Wyatt's eyes were a startling blue, begging with curiosity.

"Up there." Leo replied, ashamed he had left the sister's with a whitelighter who couldn't heal.  
The fact that the whitelighter he had come to dislike was his son, made this situation even more incomprehensible.

"With the Elders? this whole time?" Wyatt seemed doubtful.

"Well it's been my responsbility. You see, Elders" Leo pointed towards the ceiling, "watch over the Earth, protecting everyone from harm."

Wyatt's next question was simple, "Did you miss mommy and little me?" He had never been away from his father for more than a school day.

Leo's answer was earnest, "Every single second of every single day."

* * *

Chris took solace in the fact that his mother and aunts were safe, but this was a disaster.  
Not only did his mother know who he was, so did Leo. How the hell was he supposed to get anything done with his neurotic mother constantly prodding him?

The matter of Leo bothered him more. He hadn't exactly been subtle about his distaste for Leo.  
Now that Leo was back on Earth, it was going to be even harder to get rid of him this time around; He liked to feign a sense of duty to his family.

Sure, Leo would be a father to a Chris Halliwell someday, but it wasn't now and it wasn't him.  
He knew that Piper would expect him to forgive Leo for sins he had yet to commit,  
but after all the things Leo had missed out on when he was a child, he just was not ready.

Leo had gotten better after Piper's death, true, but Chris just saw it as an horrible twist of irony.  
He'd rather have the shitty version of Leo with his mother alive, than to have an affectionate father with his mother dead.

Chris hated knowing what he would do next;  
He was going to send Wyatt home and force his parents to forget what they had learned in the last twelve hours.  
What hurt him more was that he was going to force himself to do the same thing.

The future Wyatt had described was nothing short of a miracle and Chris was not in the position to sacrifice a miracle.  
Nothing was worth that, not even his parent's love.


	11. Paralell

Author's Note:

Favorites: 34  
Alerts: 70

I really appreciate all the reviews, and author alerts this story has gotten while I've been away. I've been in summer school.  
As always, if you have any ideas or suggestions please do share :)

* * *

I think I can figure it out, but I'm gonna  
Need a little help to get me through it  
To get me through it...

-Motion City Soundtrack

* * *

It seemed like no matter what movement Chris made, Leo always seemed to follow. Any time Chris would catch him, Leo would either orb away or give Chris this easy grin like the two were friends or something.

By the time Chris had made it upstairs, he realized Leo had no intention of stopping this senseless behavior.  
"Are you planning on following me into the bathroom too?" His sharp words left Leo averting his gaze guiltily.

A faint flush appeared, and there was a short apology before Leo disappeared back down the stairs.

Chris gave a sigh of relief before closing his eyes and laughing at his_ luck_. This was getting obscene.  
no... it was past obscene. On a scale of bad to Hurricane Katrina, this was Haiti. Admittedly, he didn't know much of either incident as the only mentions that had been given were in history lesson he had attended in junior high, but still... this was way past ridiculous.

Wyatt was sitting downstairs with Piper, trying terribly to adjust to his family's new dynamic,  
"Mommy, is Chris going to be okay? He seems angry."

Piper looked down at her son with a melancholy smile, "We're going to work on it."

Wyatt looked doubtful as he furrowed closer to his mother, "I miss little Chris."

When the boy had fallen asleep, Piper picked him up, traveled the stairs, and laid him in her bed. Pulling a blanket over him, she stared at him intently.  
She couldn't imagine his curious blue eyes turning icy, but somehow an image persisted in her thoughts. Did his hair still hold a curl, and was its hue the same gold?

A knock interrupted her thoughts, and so she gave her permission in a whisper as Chris entered discreetly.

He glanced at the sleeping boy with an unreadable expression, "I barely remember him." He murmured to her, "It's the part of him I'd like to save."

This was one the first admissions Chris had made to her, but there wasn't much Piper could find herself to say. There wasn't really anything to say. Their thoughts were unspoken; Just how had this naive child become the future source of all destruction?

Chris looked at her with a sympathetic expression, "Piper, it's not your fault. He can still be saved, you know."

She nodded. Was this all routine for Chris? How many people must he have said this to in the future to have come this far? Piper now seemed to notice all of her features in his disheartened face, her cheekbones and darkened hair... and suddenly she began to see even more, some things she didn't want to see and so she returned her attention to Wyatt.

"Paige and Phoebe are still asleep. Paige is probably going to be out of it for the next day or two, darklighter arrows aren't... they aren't fun." He shuffled a bit, looking down at his feet nervously, "In the morning we should come up with a plan to send Wyatt home."

"and then we'll destroy the Monster." Piper added immediately, no waver in her tone.

Chris gave no response as he left the room on his descent back downstairs.

As he passed Phoebe's resting form, he couldn't help but shoot an expression of contempt at her. She hadn't even been hurt by the darklighter but had still given way to Wyatt's safety, and not only this childish form but the infant too. Had she been placed in his future with his sister and himself, she wouldn't have been able to hold to her sanity for long. He had tried to shape his expectations to the situation, but how many times can someone experience disappointment before demanding absolute reformation?

Honestly, the only reason he had agreed to let Paige sleep was because he was much closer to her than to Phoebe and preferred her to company to temperamental-Piper and the ditz. In his future, Phoebe had four children though none remained anymore. The only remaining Halliwell descendants were all through Piper and were at constant war with each other.

Emily... he was missing her about now. She was unreasonably loud and expressive, often aggravatingly critical and impatient but at least she had a head on her shoulders. He had parted with her at only one other point in his life. It had been about a year before he'd left her behind. Embracing her whitelighter side and accepting that her witch powers wouldn't help against her eldest brother, Emily had made the choice to travel for six weeks around the world to help those who been left in ruin in wake of Wyatt. When she had returned, she had grown an awful lot but had lost much of her gusto. His sister was the only one who had understood his circumstances outside of Bianca, and he couldn't think of Bianca... it was too painful.

Leo was hushing infant Wyatt, whose wails were horribly painful and left Chris in a state of irritation once more. There was never peace with Wyatt. Chris tried to separate the baby from his adult counterpart, but it wasn't the easiest of distinctions. To add to that, he couldn't see himself having children and barely tolerated them. They were pestering, needy, and vulnerable. Like a puppy that you can't return, when you really should have known better but were too immature to.

Sleep didn't sound so bad anymore, anything to escape his thoughts and the thoughts of everyone around him.  
Unspoken as they often were, he could almost feel their tension and it made him sick.

It seemed like no matter what movement Chris made, trouble always seemed to follow

* * *

Author's Note: Nothing really happened in this chapter, but it'll be better next chapter. Please review, and I love all suggestions! thanks :)


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